Railway Recruitment Board JE ME
RRB JE ME is a recruitment exam conducted by Railway Recruitment Board for the recruitment of Junior Engineers, relevant to candidates preparing for Indian Railways recruitment.
RRB JE ME is the Junior Engineer (Mechanical Engineering) recruitment run by the Railway Recruitment Boards under the Indian Railways. Mechanical diploma and degree holders apply for it through the common Centralised Employment Notice (CEN) for Junior Engineer, Depot Material Superintendent (DMS) and Chemical and Metallurgical Assistant (CMA) posts. The current cycle is CEN 04/2026.
This page gives you the cycle at a glance: vacancies, dates, eligibility, the two-stage CBT pattern, the Mechanical technical syllabus, salary and a practical preparation plan. Where a figure comes from a secondary report rather than the official notice, it is marked, so please confirm it on the official RRB website before acting on it.
Table of Contents
RRB JE ME at a glance
CEN 04/2026 notification overview
Important dates
Mechanical vacancies
Eligibility in brief
Application fee and how to apply
Exam pattern
Syllabus summary
Selection process
Salary and career growth
How to prepare for RRB JE Mechanical
Cut-off reference
RRB JE ME at a glance
Particular | Details |
|---|---|
Conducting body | Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), Indian Railways |
Post | Junior Engineer (Mechanical), part of the combined JE, DMS and CMA recruitment |
Current cycle | CEN 04/2026 |
Qualification | Three-year diploma or BE/B.Tech in Mechanical or an allied stream |
Age limit | 18 to 33 years for General and EWS, with category relaxation |
Stages | CBT 1, CBT 2, document verification, medical examination |
Pay level | Level 6, starting basic pay Rs. 35,400 per month |
Official websites | rrb.indianrailways.gov.in and rrbapply.gov.in |
CEN 04/2026 notification overview
The indicative notice for CEN 04/2026 appeared on 25 July 2026, and the detailed notification followed on 13 August 2026. Reports based on the notice put the total at 4,029 posts after a corrigendum, up from 3,993 at first release. Some pages still quote 4,098, which is the older indicative figure, so treat the corrigendum number as the current one.
The application window has closed. At this stage, candidates who applied should be tracking the CBT 1 schedule, the exam city slip and the e-call letter on their regional RRB website.
Important dates
Event | Date |
|---|---|
Indicative notice | 25 July 2026 |
Detailed notification | 13 August 2026 |
Online applications | 14 August to 13 September 2026 |
Last date for fee payment | 15 September 2026 |
Modification window | 16 to 25 September 2026 |
Exam city slip | 17 October 2026 (as reported) |
CBT 1 | 27 and 28 October 2026 (revised, tentative) |
CBT 2 | To be announced |
Tentative dates come from RRB notices and can change. Track the official RRB website for your region and your registered email and mobile number. Earlier schedules also listed 30 October, and older pages may still show it.
Mechanical vacancies
According to the department-wise table reported by more than one preparation site, Mechanical has 1,125 Junior Engineer vacancies in this cycle, the second largest group after Civil. The community split reported is UR 464, SC 182, ST 110, OBC 251 and EWS 118. These figures are indicative; the discipline-wise annexure of the official CEN is the final word, and vacancies are further divided by RRB zone.
Eligibility in brief
Qualification
Candidates need a three-year diploma in engineering in Mechanical or an allied discipline (such as Production, Automobile, Mechatronics or Tool and Die Making), or a BE/B.Tech in a corresponding stream. The qualification must be completed by the stated cut-off date; candidates awaiting final results by then are not eligible.
Age limit
The reported age limit is 18 to 33 years for General and EWS, 18 to 35 for OBC (NCL) and 18 to 38 for SC and ST, calculated from the reference date in the notification. Further relaxation applies for PwBD candidates, ex-servicemen and certain railway employees.
Application fee and how to apply
Category | Fee |
|---|---|
General, OBC, EWS | Rs. 500 |
SC, ST, PwBD, ex-servicemen, women, transgender, minorities, EBC | Rs. 250 |
Fee refund rules for candidates who appear in CBT 1 are set in the official notice. Applications are filed on the RRB application portal by registering, choosing the RRB region, filling in details, uploading photograph and signature, and paying the fee. Keep your Aadhaar details consistent with your Class 10 certificate name and date of birth, as the notice stresses.
Exam pattern
There are two computer-based tests. CBT 1 is a common screening test and CBT 2 tests technical ability in your discipline.
Test | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
CBT 1 (all disciplines) | 100 | 100 | 90 minutes |
CBT 2 (Mechanical) | 150 | 150 | 120 minutes |
Each correct answer earns one mark and each wrong answer costs one-third of a mark in both tests. Of the 150 marks in CBT 2, 100 come from Technical Abilities, so your Mechanical subjects decide your final merit.
Syllabus summary
The official CEN names the subjects but does not give a topic-wise list for Technical Abilities. The table below is a working checklist built from the notification and from topics asked in earlier JE papers, not an official list.
Subject area | Stage | Important topics |
|---|---|---|
Mathematics, Reasoning, General Awareness, General Science | CBT 1 and CBT 2 (basics) | Arithmetic, algebra, mensuration, analogies, current affairs, school-level physics, chemistry, biology |
Thermal engineering and thermodynamics | CBT 2 | Laws of thermodynamics, cycles, IC engines, refrigeration, heat transfer |
Strength of materials and engineering mechanics | CBT 2 | Stress and strain, beams, torsion, friction, equilibrium |
Fluid mechanics and hydraulic machines | CBT 2 | Bernoulli, pumps, turbines, flow measurement |
Manufacturing, machining and welding | CBT 2 | Lathe, milling, casting, welding processes, metrology |
Machine design and industrial management | CBT 2 | Gears, bearings, springs, PERT/CPM, inventory |
Selection process
CBT 1: a screening test. Candidates are shortlisted for CBT 2 in a fixed ratio to the vacancies (reported as 15 times) and must meet the qualifying percentage.
CBT 2: the merit test, where Technical Abilities carries the most weight.
Document verification: originals of educational, category and identity documents are checked.
Medical examination: candidates must meet the medical standard for the post.
The reported minimum qualifying percentages are 40 percent for UR and EWS, 30 percent for OBC (NCL) and SC, and 25 percent for ST. Confirm them in the official notice.
Salary and career growth
JE is a Level 6 post under the 7th Pay Commission, with a starting basic pay of Rs. 35,400 and a pay scale up to Rs. 1,12,400. Dearness allowance, house rent allowance, travel allowance and other benefits are added on top. In-hand salary varies by posting city and allowances, so no single in-hand figure applies to everyone. Mechanical JEs typically work in workshops, locomotive and coaching depots, and maintenance units, and can progress through departmental promotions.
How to prepare for RRB JE Mechanical
CBT 1 preparation
Since CBT 1 has 100 questions in 90 minutes, speed matters. Mathematics and General Science together carry 60 marks, and both are school-level. Revise Class 8 to 10 science and practise arithmetic daily. Reasoning needs steady practice, and General Awareness needs a short daily reading of current affairs.
CBT 2 preparation
Spend most of your time on Technical Abilities. Study subject by subject, starting with Thermal Engineering, Strength of Materials, Fluid Mechanics and Manufacturing, which are the most scoring areas for most candidates. Keep short formula notes and solve previous year questions after each subject. Do not neglect the 50 non-technical marks: General Awareness, Physics and Chemistry, Computers and Environment questions are quick to answer.
Cut-off reference
RRBs release normalised cut-off marks category-wise after CBT results. They vary by RRB region, category and year. Treat earlier cut-offs as a benchmark only and aim for a clear margin above them. For official notices, visit the RRB portal, apply through the RRB application portal and read railway news on the Indian Railways website.